Irwin Edman (November 28, 1896 – September 4, 1954) was an American

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of philosophy.

Biography

Irwin Edman was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents. He grew up in the

Morningside Heights Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningsi ...

neighborhood of Manhattan, adjacent to

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, with which he was to be affiliated his entire adult life. Edman spent his high-school years at Townsend Harris Hall, a New York high school for superior pupils. He then attended Columbia University, where he graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

and earned his bachelor's degree in 1917 and his Ph.D. in 1920. During his student years at Columbia he was a member of the Boar's Head Society. He became a professor of philosophy at Columbia, and during the course of his career he rose to serve as head of the philosophy department. He also served as a visiting lecturer at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

, the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

, and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

and Wesleyan Universities. In 1945 the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

and the Brazilian government sponsored a series of lectures he gave in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. He was a popular professor and served as a

mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

to undergraduate students, notably future Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Herman Wouk Herman Wouk ( ; May 27, 1915 – May 17, 2019) was an American author. He published fifteen novels, many of them historical fiction such as ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1951), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize in fiction. ...

. Wouk sent chapters of what would be his first novel,

The Caine Mutiny ''The Caine Mutiny'' is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard two destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among its themes, it deals with the mo ...

, to Edman. Edman, in turn, convinced a Simon & Schuster executive to publish the nove

He was the brother-in-law of Lester Markel, the longtime Sunday editor of ''The New York Times''. In addition to writing philosophical works, Irwin Edman was a frequent contributor to literary magazines such as ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'' (later renamed ''The Atlantic''), ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'', ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper (publisher), Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many su ...

'', ''Commentary'', and ''Horizon''. In 1953, Edman was elected vice president of the National Institute of Arts and Letters (later succeeded by the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

). Edman published many books on philosophy as well as poetry and some fiction. His books include ''Philosopher’s Holiday'', ''Richard Kane Looks at Life'', ''Four Ways of Philosophy'', ''Philosopher's Quest'', and ''Arts and the Man: An Introduction to Aesthetics''. He died, of a heart attack, on September 4, 1954, in New York.''The New York Times'', 5 September 1954, page 51.

Bibliography

* Arthur Schopenhauer: The World As Will And Idea * Arts and the man: a short introduction to aesthetics (1939) * Candle in the Dark : A Postscript to Despair (1939) * Don Quixote: The Ingenious Man of La Mancha (Introduction) * Ecclesiastes, with an Essay by Irwin Edman; Odyssey Press, New York, 1946 * Emerson's Essays, First & Second Series Complete in One Volume * Epictetus. Discourses and Enchiridion. Based on the Translation of Thomas... * ''Fountainheads of Freedom: The Growth of the Democratic Idea,'' with Herbert W. Schneider * Human Traits and Their Social Significance * John Dewey: his contribution to the American tradition (as editor) * Landmarks for beginners in philosophy * Machiavelli: The Prince (Introduction and Preface) (1954) * Meditations. Marcus Aurelius and His Times. The Transition from Paganism to Christianity (1945) * Philosopher's Holiday (1938) * Philosopher's Quest (1947) * The Mind Of Paul (1935) * The Philosophy of Plato. Jowett Translation * The Philosophy of Santayana * The Philosophy of Schopenhauer (1928) * The Uses of Philosophy * The Works of Plato * The World, the Arts and the Artist * Under Whatever Sky (1951)

Poetry

;Collections * Poems ;List of poems ——————— ;Notes

References

External links

* *
A Tribute to Irwin Edman on Columbia University's website
* Edman's introduction to Schopenhauer's main work {{DEFAULTSORT:Edman, Irwin 1896 births 1954 deaths Jewish American academics American philosophy academics Columbia University faculty Columbia College (New York) alumni Wesleyan University faculty Harvard University staff The New Yorker people Townsend Harris High School alumni People from Morningside Heights, Manhattan Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Jews from New York (state)